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Hampshire's local pages

Nutley

At the time of the Domesday Survey (1086) the manor of Nutley was held by Henry the Treasurer, an important officer of the king. In the reign of Henry III (1216-1272) the manor was acquired by the famous Adam Gurdon, whose daughter Joan sold the land to the Norton family during the reign of Edward I; the Nortons continued in possession for nearly four hundred years. In the eighteenth century Elizabeth Norton married Frances Paulet of Amport, and their son sold Nutley to Thomas Hall in 1745. The property later passed by marriage to George Purefoy Jervoise, whose descendants were lords of the manor until 1905.

The twelfth century Church of Our Lady was rebuilt in 1845, incorporating a few of the architectural features of the mediaeval building. The Victorian structure was itself demolished in 1955, but the graveyard is still maintained by Preston Candover Parish Council.

Several prehistoric sites have been identified in various fields throughout the parish: finds include Neolithic flint implements, scrapers and axes, and also Iron Age field systems and occupation sites. The locally-called "Gobley Holes" are of unknown date but have yielded burnt earth, ashes, and a Neolithic axe. Roman remains such as tiles, pottery and tesserae indicate the site of at least one Roman building.